Now That You're Dead
by CreepyxDegrassi
Summary: When Eli gets writers block, a past Degrassi student decides to come for a visit. What will be Eli's reaction to life after death? One shot.


_Come on Eli, just focus._

Eli sat in front of the desk in his messy bedroom, ripping yet another piece of paper from his notebook and crumpling it up. His room was a disaster. It hadn't been cleaned since him and Clare were still together. It was the day Clare saw how messy his room was, forcing him to help her organize it. But, of course, that was months ago, and being a teenage boy, Eli would mess it up again eventually. He huffed out a sigh. Maybe he should clean it. But he couldn't! He had to write! But Clare would be so upset when she would see the mess. Oh, but she wouldn't see it. _Focus, Eli!_

His thoughts were all over the place, making him one hundred percent sure he wouldn't be cleaning his room anytime soon. Angrily, he stood up and slammed both fists into the wall, closing his eyes as he took deep breaths. _Pull yourself together, Eli._

"Are you alright?" Eli had heard a faint male voice behind him. He rolled his eyes replying in a sarcastic tone, "Just peachy thanks." It took a moment for him to realize he had no idea who he was talking to. Cece and Bullfrog were out to dinner with friends for the night, meaning he was, or should be, home alone. He blinked a few times before turning around, his eyes frantically searching throughout his room. It was the same as before.

"Great, now I'm hearing things," Eli muttered to himself, shaking his head. He glanced down at the floor, looking at the mess he had to clean once again. He sighed deeply.

"You aren't hearing things," The same voice spoke back up, making Eli jump. Who the hell was that? What was he, or it, doing in his house? "Who's there?" Eli yelled, looking behind him quickly. It scared him, in all honesty. He was almost one hundred percent sure he had gone completely mad. Maybe it was time to go to a psychiatric ward. "Calm down, it's just me."

Eli turned his head to see an unfamiliar figure appearing on his bed, sitting as casual as any normal teenage boy would. Eli blinked a few times, but the figure didn't disappear. No matter what, though, Eli was almost positive his mind was playing tricks on him.

"Do I know you?" Eli asked blankly, not thinking that he shouldn't be talking to whoever, or whatever it was. He narrowed his eyebrows toward the figure, ignoring his thoughts.

"Of course not! Where are my manners? I'm Rick Murray, and you're Elijah Goldsworthy, right?" Eli felt himself slowly nod, though he had no idea why. After what seemed like forever, Eli spoke up, "How did you get here, Rick…?" It was odd to speak that name, for some unknown reason. But, of course, Eli ignored that thought, too.

"You're a very inquisitive person, Elijah. Julia didn't mention that a—"

"It's Eli." He cut Rick off with an annoyed tone as he rolled his eyes. A moment later, though, he realized what Rick had said after that. His eyes grew wide. "I'm sorry, who?" A laugh escaped Rick's pale like lips, making Eli narrow his eyebrows in confusion.

"You don't know your own girlfriend? I can't wait to tell her that!" Rick's laughter continued as Eli felt his stomach drop inside his body. Maybe it was all just a nightmare; an unexplainable nightmare.

"She's quite beautiful, Elij—Eli." Rick gave Eli a faint smile, causing Eli to smirk. It wasn't Rick that caused the smirk, but the thought of Julia. He missed that beautiful face of hers. He longed for it.

"You know her, then?" Eli spoke up, cocking his head to one side. She was dead, wasn't she? So what did that make Rick?

"Well of course! She and I are very close friends, if you must know." Rick smiled. "She talks about you a lot, too. She even still calls you her boyfriend." Eli suddenly felt a small bit of happiness grow inside him.

"She always tells me how she wishes she could visit. She only sees you every so often." The sound of this made a frown grow on Eli's face. "Excuse me?"

` "Everyone has a purpose for something, Elijah. Even Julia and I do. Us dead people have priorities too, you know." Eli's eyes stayed wide. Dead people have, priorities? So this Rick guy is…

"So you're d—dead..?" Eli forced himself to choke out, though he sounded like a scared little kid. Rick laughed again, "You just realized this?" Eli was at a loss of words. What was he supposed to say? He knew he shouldn't say anything. He needed to run; maybe to Adam's house.

But Eli couldn't help himself. He wanted answers.

"So, why can't Julia visit me…?"

"Like I said before, dead people have priorities, too. We can't just go wherever we please. We have places to go and certain people to help. Don't you see? I'm here right now to help you." A small smile formed across Eli's lips, though it went away instantly. Why was _he _visiting him and not Julia?

"What are these 'priorities' you're talking about?" Rick sighed, knowing Eli was completely clueless.

"Let me explain this where you can understand, alright? I'm Rick Murray. I died at the Degrassi shooting years ago." Eli's mouth dropped wide open. He knew the name sounded familiar! "I was shot, and that's how I died," Rick continued, "Now my priorities are based on teens who die from anything involving a gun or bullet."

"But that doesn't explain why Julia can't visit me," Eli interrupted, raising his eyebrows.

"Well if you'd let me finish," Rick replied, giving a quick glare to Eli before sighing. "Julia got hit by a car, meaning her priorities are not only based off of teens being killed by cars, but also unexpected teen deaths."

"But didn't you say she sees me every so often?"

"Because she visits Adam, smart one."

It took Eli awhile to take this all in. He then sucked in a deep breath, "So, Adam will get hit by a car?"

"Do you not listen? Unexpected teen deaths."

"Well, what's the death, then?" Eli watched as Rick took a very deep breath. He narrowed his eyebrows.

"I'm not supposed to say. It's against the code." Eli sighed, his eyes not leaving Rick's. "I'm begging you, Rick. Please, tell me." Eli watched as Rick paused. After what felt like years, Rick nodded. "I mean, I guess I already broke the code." Eli sighed in relief as Rick cleared his throat.

"Adam gets, well…. Attacked."

Eli's eyes instantly grew, his heart quickly sinking.

"No…" He whispered quietly, making Rick frown. _Attacked? That's insane! Who would do such a thing to someone as innocent as Adam?_

"But you said you only visit people when they need help. Why would Julia need to visit Adam?" Rick tilted his head back as he began to laugh once more. "You humans amuse me," He finally spoke, calming his laughter. Eli narrowed his eyebrows, confused. Rick smirked.

"You really think Adam's happy?" He asked Eli, raising his eyebrows amusingly. Eli hesitated before shaking his head, bringing his gaze to the floor. "I guess not…" Rick nodded in agreement.

Eli suddenly heard a beeping sound in the room, making him look around confused. Rick stood up, sighing. "I guess I'm leaving now."

"Wait!" Eli exclaimed, holding out his hand in front of him, "I have one more thing to ask you." Rick rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Make it quick."

"You said your priorities were teen shootings and stuff…" Rick sighed, interrupting Eli. He knew exactly what Eli's question would be. He shook his head, "I know what you're going to ask, and I can't give you the answer."

Eli bit his bottom lip. Would he get caught in a Degrassi shooting like Rick did? Would he be walking down town and get attacked and shot, like Adam would…? Eli took a deep breath, running his hand through his dark hair. He brought his gaze to Rick, seeing he was slowly disappearing. "Rick, h-how will I die?"

Rick completely disappeared, the last whisper he said going through Eli's ears.

"Suicide."


End file.
